Her Inner Darkness
by CuteMcBeauty
Summary: A quick one-shot based on Emma's visions from 6x01; Who defeated Emma Swan?


She is now lying there… bleeding out.

The hooded figure vanishes into a whirling puff of reds and greys, the victory over the pesky savior finally accomplished.

Seems villains CAN get happy endings; villains can find them through redemption. But her initial suspicions were right: There is no break for the savior.

"Emma!" Snow shouts, running towards her ailing daughter on the floor and cradling her head on her lap (while her husband cradles her, short of dying right there next to their firstborn child).

Killian releases Henry, aghast, his arms trembling as he slowly paces towards her. This woman he loves so much, whom he had fought so hard for and whom he had witnessed fight in return for him, now slowly paling, her lips quick going from crimson to white to blue. "No no no…" He hears himself whisper as his pace quickens. He barely hears the boy's ached "Mom!" behind him. He only has eyes and ears for his Swan. He slides down to the floor and reaches out for her hand. "Emma, love… no…"

Her eyes shoot in all directions, pain taking over. It's getting harder and harder to breathe and the air around her just feels so, so cold. She finally focuses on the kind, round face looking down at her. "M… mom… I.."

"Shh no, baby, it's ok, I'm here…"

"I'm… I'm sorry. I can't protect you any more I…. I…"

"Henry, call 911!" David shouts out. "And call your other mom! Maybe she can help!"

"H… Hook…. K… Killian…"

Killian's grip on her hand tightens with every gasp, agonizing breaths that leave a misty trail from her paling lips. He tries to come closer. "I'm here, love. Shh…"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"

"For what, Swan?"

"I… I failed you."

Killian frowns and shakes his head. "How, my love? You ventured into the very core of hell for me, you saved me time and time again, from various beasts, from death itself… from myself. How have you failed me at all, Emma?"

She grins weakly and tightens her gripo n his hand. "The one thing… th… the one thing you wanted… your h… happy ending. I know it was m… me, Killian and now… I… I'm dying, I…"

"No, Emma, no." David cuts in. "You'll be fine, Henry called an ambulance, you'll be ok! Don't give up now!"

She shivers and everyone shudders with her. "N… No dad. It's ok. It's my time. I… I saw this."

Snow winces. "What do you mean, you saw this?"

Henry crouches down before her. "You knew? You knew this could happen and didn't tell us?"

Killian turns to the boy and shakes his head. "No, no, it's fine, lad, she… she probably just wanted to… to save us all the ache, right love?" He tries to muster up a smile as he rubs an anxious thumb on her hand. "All the same, Swan, why didn't you share your burden with us? With me? We could have maybe taken another path or…"

"Killian… It was either me or you… all of you. N… nothing is worth the lives of the people I love… And… and Saviors don't get happy endings. It's just how it is. It's…. just…."

Snow has tears running down her cheeks. "Emma, hold on. Please hold on." She sobs. "You're not just the savior, you're our daughter. You are a mother, you have a man here who loves you beyond measure, good friends… you are more tan just this… savior thing. You are a beautiful, smart, gifted woman, and there's not one person here, not one, who doesn't love you…"

Emma chuckles. "Maybe not the guy in the cloak…"

They all manage a small chuckle. Regina pufs into the scene.

"Oh no, what happened?" She walks over and crouches right next to Henry, whose eyes are now flooded with unshed tears. The former queen places her hand on her son's shoulder and his pain suddenly becomes her own.

She gasps. "G… Guys…"

Everyone is focused on her. Regina bites her lip. Killian fights to hold back tears that have inevitably started a path down his face. Henry's retching sobs are unbridled, and the Charmings don't even try to conceal their grief.

She gulps and looks at everyone. "G… Guys, please… take care of … Henry."

The boy sobs. "Stay with me, mom."

She grins at him. "I always will…"

As the boy's face falls, she looks up.

Her eyes roll back to her mom. "Mom? Dad?"

"Emma…"

"You… have been… th… the parents I always dreamed of. You…. You made a princess out of an orphan.." She grins. "Thnak you… and… forgive me for… for beings such a hardass…"

"Oh Emma…" David smiles at her. "You're our baby. We love you."

Snow smiles through her tears. "There is nothing we wouldn't do for you, sweetheart."

She nods. Her eyes turn to her lover. "K… Killian?"

The pirate tries to grin through glazed celulean eyes. "Aye, love… I'm here…"

She focuses on him and tries to regain strength enough to speak. "You… you are the … love of my life."

"As you are mine, Emma." He replies with a hearbroken grin.

"D…. Don't slip… b back into the darkness. You are loved. F… find love again, K… Killian…"

"No, Emma, no…." Killian moans in despair.

"Please…" She grips his hand. "I pr…omised you that I'd never put my armour on again…. And I…. I kept that promise. You promise me…. You will move on. You will… be happy again…"

Killian hangs his head and shakes it before rising back to her, sniffing. "I promise."

"I love you so much…"

"I love you too…. Bloody hell, I love you too.." He kisses her hand desperately.

Emma suddenly sighs peacefully. "I'm… not afraid. I'm… Emma Swan. I am the savior. Iam a princess. I am… a mother…. I am a lover…. I am… I am loved."

"Where the hell is that ambulance?" Regina looks around desperately.

"It's… done…" Emma gags, suddenly blurting out blood. "I… I wish… I…"

"Wish what, Emma?" Snow holds her baby girl close.

The beautiful fighting princess, pale and drawn, smiles a bright smile, brighter than ever before. "I wish… I don't have to be alone… right now…"

"Mom?"

Lights in the distance announce the coming of an ambulance; Emma convulses in her mother's arms and then… she's still, her eyes fixed on the stars overhead.

"No…" Killian breathes while Snow's loud sobbing fills the air in the streets. David is no better, but still trying to support and hold his broken wife, wishing there could be someone to hold him. Henry turns and buries his face in Regina's shoulder. The brunette queen closes her eyes and hangs her head as she consoles her boy. Emma's boy. She had Emma to thank for Henry.

Killian is the first to stand, turn and face the seemingly endless dark street, desperate tears and anger glowing like a fierce fire, features contorted and one fist clenched. "BLOODY DEMON! WHERE ARE YOU?" He hollers. "Come hither! Come on, fight me! I will not yield until I finish you or you finish me like you did my Emma! WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU!?"

With a whoosh, the cloaked figure reappears, silent, before Killian. He's quick to draw his sword, his teeth gritted as he points it towards the entity. "You… took my love from me. And now you will pay… whether I dispatch you or you dispatch me first, I will make do. Draw your blade, demon. Fight me."

Snow still cradles her daughter while David and Henry look from Emma to the sudden skirmish that Killian has initiated. The entity is powerful and the sound of clashing blades overpowers the softening sobs of Snow White.

It's not until Killian Jones is disarmed by the figure that everyone gasped. The entity points it's plade straight at his throat.

"Go on then…" He growls between teeth, tears trickling down his face. "Be done with it. I'll be reunited with my Swan soon, so…. Come on!"

The cloaked figure speaks back. "Yes. That you will…" And it put its sword down.

Simultaneously, the body of Emma Swan dissapears from the arms of Snow White, through a swirl of silvery smoke.

"What the…" Regina sneers.

"Where did she go?" Snow speaks, her nose stuffy and red.

The cloak unveils itself. "I'm right here…"

Killian feels his breath depart his body; Emma, his Emma, stands before him, clad in a white flowing blouse. "Emma? No… It can't be… I saw you… I… How?"

She smiles and looks at her own hands. "Yes… that was me. Or a part of me. A part I needed to defeat." She looked back to him and touched his face. "Killian… it's me. It's Emma. I confronted my fears and my anger, and… I won." She laughs as he slowly begins to smile, warmth once again flooding his heart. "I… I was tested! I never understood, I always thought the savior's biggest enemy was something or someone… but… Our greatest enemies are always our own selves!"

"Swan…" He breathes and holds her to himself "Oh, Swan! You're alive!"

"Yes…" She speaks to him between kisses and tears. "Yes, I am. I'm not going anywhere now. Not ever."

"MOM!" Henry runs to her. Emma holds on to her pirate and embraces her boy wth her other hand. "You're ok!"

"Yeah, kid…" she sighes with a content grin.

Henry looks up to her laughing. "You faced your inner Balrog… and you defeated it! You're like… like, Gandalf the grey now!"

"More like, Emma the white!" She laughs back and kisses the top of his head.

When she looks up, she barely has time to release Henry and Killian before Snow frantically pulls her to herself. "Emma!" She cried hard, smiling.

"Mom… I'm fine. We're all fine."

David smiles and holds them both, his chin over Snow's head and his hand gently cradling Emma's head. When he pulls away, he looks at his daughter. "You were that… hooded figure all along? Why did you say that you wouldn't let it hurt us?"

Emma frowns and shrugged. "I guess… my biggest fear was that being who I am, the savior, will always endanger the people I love. I thought that… everything that ever happened, every danger… was because of me, because of who I am, and… That fear manifested itself as the shaky version of Emma I slayed, the one who had no control over her magic, the one who was powerless to defend those she loves. But I'm not that person alone. I have conquered those fears... I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner."

"Aye, you should have; you ought to know better by now Swan, that." Killian smiles. "But I am far too overjoyed to see you are not dead to even be the slightest bit irate with you, love."

Regina walks to her with a smile. "I am… impressed." She reaches out and holdsEmma's hand. "Welcome back… Emma Swan."

"Thanks."

"So… what happened to… the other Emma? Is she really dead?" Henry shruggs.

Emma shakes her head. "No. She is me. She's a part of who I am. I just… conquered her. I call the shots now."

Killian chuckles. "And… who might you be, then?"

Emma raises her face and smirks. "Oh, no one, just the princess who just totally kicked your ass in a swordfight!"

He shrugs a shoulder. "To be fair… I rather wanted it to kill me."

"Oh!" She smiles mockingly. "So now you're saying that you let me won?"

"What I mean, highness…" He reaches out for her hand. "Is that I did not want to emerge voctorious from this skirmish. I… wanted to depart with you."

Her grin fades, and she reaches out to touch his face. "Oh, Killian…" She sighs and turns to look at her family. "As always, all I have to do to win the hardest battles is simply… face who I am and accept and embrace it. Seems this did the trick too."

He looks at her with fierce intense love and takes the hand from his cheek to his lips. "And just who are you Swan?"

She nods. "Like I said: I'm… Emma Swan. Iam a princess. I am a mother, I am a lover and above all things, I am loved, not because I am the savior, but because of all the things that MAKE me the savior. I am also afraid, but that's ok. I have it under control now, I will never again build walls. I don't need then any more."

"We couldn't be prouder of you." David nods with a grin.

"Granny's?" Henry grins.

"No." Regina replies. "Let's all just… have a family evening at home."

"Our place?" Snow smiles.

"Too crowded." Regina offers. "Maybe MY place."

"Erh… guys?" Emma cuts in. "Actually, if you don't mind… I think I'd just… rather go home. To my…" she smiles at Killian. "Our…place."

Killian scratches the back of his ear. "Aye. We could do with some rest."

David's grin dissapears. Snow presses her lips tight. Henry chuckes and Regina smirks. "I… suppose a family dinner can wait." She concurs.

There will be no rest for Killian and Emma that evening. But there is no objection in the air. Emma lives. Emma is strong. Emma still is, and always will be, the Savior, for her happy ending is not an ending. It's a happy life.


End file.
